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Updated: 6.25pm
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar had made his first public speech at the Dáil since the weekend emerged of sharing a confidential GP contract.
The Fine Gael leader said he welcomed the opportunity to “set the record straight” about his decision to release the document to Dr. Maitiu O Tuathail.
Dr O Tuathail, a friend of Mr Varadkar, is a past president of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP), a rival organization of the Irish Medical Organization (IMO).
The leaked document contained a draft payment agreement reached between the Health Department, HSE and IMO in April last year.
This was my only motivation from the beginning. I wanted the best for general practice, for patients and the public.
Varadkar said in his statement that he apologized for his “errors in judgment” regarding sharing the document.
He said he wanted to share the motivations behind his actions and said he was determined to get the GP deal in question “made with universal acceptance.”
“I wanted to use the influence of the Taoiseach office to secure a new contract for GPs. It would be a big step forward to ensure universal healthcare that I believe in, “Varadkar said.
“This was my only motivation from the beginning. I wanted the best for general practice, for patients and the public.”
He described the allegations that he shared the document for personal gain as “deeply offensive.”
Friendship
On the issue of his friendship with Dr. O Tuathail, Mr. Varadkar said that he had other friends who were general practitioners and had not provided them with copies of the document.
“I did not give the document to my friends who are family doctors. I only gave it to one person because he was the leader of the NAGP, not because he was my friend, ”he said.
“We are friends. But there are friends and there are friends. We are not close friends. Dr. O Tuathail is the kind of friend you meet two or three times a year.
“We are not best friends or anything like that, I know that is the narrative that is trying to create,” said Varadkar.
Mr. Varadkar told Dáil that Dr. O Tuathail “realized that he was closer to me than he was.”
He was responding to Labor TD Aodhan O Riordain, who consulted Dr. O Tuathail’s texts in the Village article that first revealed the document leak, which said: “I read constantly pulling the strings for me. You have no idea “.
O’Riordain said he found the Tánaiste’s explanation on the subject “absolutely incredible.”
“Your friend, your friend, the guy in Leo’s shirt, asked you for a copy and you said yes. Don’t you feel that you were reckless in your behavior? he said.
Excuse
In his explanation of the events, Mr. Varadkar said that he shared the document confidentially, believing that its publication was imminent, as part of the Government’s commitment to keep the NAGP informed.
He said he did this because he wanted to see that there was nothing in the agreement worth “opposing or agitating.”
Mr. Varadkar said that the deal made at the end was “demonstrably good” for general practice and that providing a group with information about it “does not confer any advantage” on anyone else.
However, he said that sharing the agreement document through an “informal communication channel” “is not good practice.”
Mr Varadkar said that this was a mistake for which he would “accept sole responsibility”.
He said he made a “mistake in judgment” in trying to achieve the “best” outcome for the GP deal, but there was nothing “dishonest”, “corrupt” or “illegal” about his actions.
He said there was “no impact, certainly none negative” after sharing the document, with the GP agreement universally accepted by family physicians.
This is a favor for friends and I am not buying your analysis.
Following Mr. Varadkar’s statement, Pearse Doherty rejected his explanation of why he leaked the confidential document to the NAGP.
He told the Dáil: “This is not a NCO, Tánaiste. You were the head of government. This is an old thing. This is not something you are just apologizing for.
“This is a favor for friends and I am not buying your analysis.”
Ireland
‘Culture of the insiders’: Letter asks a guard dog …
Varadkar said he received a copy of the document from the Department of Health and read it before putting it in the recycling bin. He later requested a second copy. When asked by Mr. Doherty why he did this, Mr. Varadkar replied, “I wanted to read it again.”
The Standards Commission in Public Office (Sipo) was asked to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident in a letter from TD Paul Murphy.
Speaking at the Dáil today, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that Varadkar’s decision to leak the document constituted an abuse of his position as then Taoiseach.
“It’s clear that he abused his position as (then) Taoiseach,” McDonald said.
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